Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Returning to Divine Martial

True Martial Peak was now desolate, with him as its sole occupant. Whether it was gathering materials or handling miscellaneous tasks, doing everything himself was far too tedious.

Of course, he didn’t need to spend time stabilizing his realm. With the aid of his Attribute Panel, the moment he entered Foundation Establishment, it was as if he had been immersed in it for a hundred years. The earlier test of his skills was purely because he had an itch to try them out.

Suddenly, Xu Yunfan looked up, his gaze like lightning. He stood atop True Martial Peak with his hands clasped behind his back, the faint shadow of his three-headed, six-armed Dharma Aspect flickering behind him.

His Divine Sense swept over the surroundings, and the Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters spying on him—some openly, some covertly—instantly felt a chill run down their spines.

In the clouds to the southeast, a sinister gaze met his and trembled violently, retreating in panic as if it had been burned. The clash even threw the surrounding Cloud Qi into disarray, causing it to disperse.

On a cliff to the northwest, one Daoist Master’s brazen probing was abruptly cut off. The clash of their Divine Senses produced the sound of metal striking stone, and his opponent ultimately let out a muffled grunt and withdrew his gaze.

To the north, three approaching auras faltered. Two of them immediately turned their cloud-mounts around. Only the purple-robed elder in the center held his ground, meeting Xu Yunfan’s gaze for three full breaths. But the instant the Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect’s eyes snapped open, the elder’s expression changed drastically. He gave a cold snort and retreated.

The mountain wind swept across the newly reborn True Martial Peak, shredding the lingering remnants of the fleeing Divine Senses to pieces.

A cold smile touched the corners of Xu Yunfan’s mouth. His Dharma Aspect’s six arms simultaneously formed the Demon Suppression Seal, causing the Spiritual Qi within a ten-li radius to suddenly seethe like boiling oil.

The remaining gazes still spying from the shadows were instantly struck as if by lightning, and they all retracted in haste.

He clearly heard the crisp sound of an object falling to the ground several li away. He even saw two or three hastily summoned Escape Lights swerve and crash into the distant mountains.

"If you want to look, then do so openly."

Xu Yunfan’s voice rang out like clashing metal, vibrating the scales of the Black Tortoise statue on the peak until they chimed. "With such furtive behavior, you dare call yourselves Daoist Masters?"

As the last word fell, he deliberately infused the sound wave with the Dou Character Technique.

Where the visible ripples spread, seven or eight deeply hidden Divine Sense markers were forced to reveal themselves, burning away into wisps of green smoke in the air.

The faint sound of shattering echoed across the sky above True Martial Peak. It was impossible to know how many spying Magical Artifacts were destroyed at that moment.

The disciples watching from the foot of the mountain only saw a blinding Profound Light erupt from the summit of True Martial Peak. By the time their vision recovered, most of the Foundation Establishment Uncles, who were usually so high and mighty, had already dispersed.

’At least six Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters.’ Xu Yunfan was a little surprised. ’I didn’t expect the Primordial Sect to have so many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and these were just the vanguards.’

He immediately waved his hand, and thirty-six Small Banners appeared from his sleeve.

’The quality is a bit lacking...’

These Small Banners were Low-tier Magical Artifacts he had looted from Xu Tian and the others. Now, as he infused them with Magical Power, their quality was so poor they could barely withstand it, and they began to hum and buzz.

With a light tap of his fingertip, the thirty-six Small Banners flew out in sequence, tracing streaks of Spiritual Light through the air.

Following the deployment instructions for the Hidden Star Concealing Moon Array from the *Initial Understanding of Array Dao*, he planted the Small Banners one by one into the Earth Vein nodes around True Martial Peak.

With each banner that landed, ripple-like Array Patterns spread across the ground, and the cloud-script characters engraved on the flagpoles lit up sequentially with a green glow.

’One is missing from the Kan Position, supplement with three in the Li Palace...’

He formed a hand seal and gave a soft cry, and three Blood Crystals flew out from his sleeve.

Xu Yunfan took a close look at the Blood Crystals. They were Blood Essence, refined by those depraved Demon Sect disciples who had performed blood sacrifices on mortals.

Naturally, he scorned such methods. Despite being a Daoist Master of the Demon Sect, he fancied himself a righteous person.

’Even if I have to cultivate, I’ll do it by righteously robbing people... ah, no, I mean, through fair trade.’

He muttered to himself self-righteously, ’Using these "experience packs" farmed from bullying mortals is beneath me. It’s no wonder these Qi Cultivation disciples are treated as nothing more than consumables.’

With a flick of his hand, he tossed the Blood Crystals into the array’s core. It was the only suitable thing he had on him at the moment.

Strictly speaking, for a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master, he was indeed ridiculously poor.

The trembling Small Banners immediately stabilized. Their surfaces fluttered without any wind, connecting in the air to form a spiderweb of Spiritual Lines.

As the final Array Pattern closed, a thin mist suddenly rose from the summit, shrouding the entire True Martial Peak.

Seeing the whole of True Martial Peak enveloped in a hazy mist, the prying Divine Thoughts receded like the tide.

On a Cloud Platform somewhere in the Primordial Sect, several Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters were gathered, their expressions varied as they gazed at the distant True Martial Peak.

The first to speak was a middle-aged Cultivator in a green robe. He held a Jade Bone Fan, lightly tapping it against his palm as a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"To think that this person, who condensed a Divine Martial Dao Foundation, is also proficient in the Array Dao. That’s quite a surprise."

An old man next to him with white hair but a youthful face stroked his beard and chuckled. "Proficient? I wouldn’t go that far."

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the thin mist. "It’s merely the Hidden Star Concealing Moon Array from the *Initial Understanding of Array Dao*. Its grade is indeed not high. But..."

The old man paused, a note of admiration in his voice. "To be able to adjust its deployment based on the mountain’s terrain and the nodes of its qi flow, and to use it with such skill, is no easy feat. I didn’t think our Saint Sect still had such talent within its ranks."

"Hah..."

A sinister-looking cultivator in black robes sneered. "It seems he’s not like the last one. Legend says that one was incredibly reckless, provoking people left and right the moment he reached Foundation Establishment. He relied on his unparalleled combat power within the same realm to make enemies everywhere, only to end up dead, his Dao extinguished. Little do they know, direct confrontation is the crudest of tactics."

Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm can already perceive the mysteries of karma, so they are naturally well-versed in the art of scheming from a distance.

The Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters of the Primordial Sect are especially proficient in this, every one of them a master of manipulating karma.

They might be playing Go on a Cloud Platform or fishing for Destiny from a mountain peak. They may look like carefree wanderers, but in reality, they have already laid deadly traps from a thousand li away.

However, sometimes, if the opponent flips the table, then the game is over for everyone. All that’s left is to have a real, bloody fight. A Daoist Master from the Demon Sect would, of course, show people exactly why it’s called the Demon Sect.

The green-robed Cultivator nodded at these words and snapped his Folding Fan shut with a "PAK." "That is true... After emerging from the Divine Martial Realm, this person knew to lie low and bide his time. Later, he became a disciple under a True Monarch. Now, he has soared to the heavens in a single leap. It truly is a matter of timing and fate."

He gave the others a meaningful look. "I think that vacant Fruit Position might just end up his for the taking."

"Fruit Position?"

A white-haired old woman who had been silent until now suddenly spoke, her voice as hoarse as sandpaper. "The Golden Core is not so easily attained."

Her withered fingers clutched a string of dark red Prayer Beads, flicking one bead for every word she spoke. "Which one of us has not gone through three lifetimes of reincarnation and endured a thousand tribulations? Some people..."

A shadow crossed the old woman’s eyes. "...can’t even manage to return to Foundation Establishment, becoming trapped forever in the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation."

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Back on True Martial Peak, after finishing the Array Formation and concealing the area, Xu Yunfan let out a soft breath.

’These Primordial Demon Sect bastards have an incredibly strong desire to pry,’ he thought. ’They’ll try any means necessary to probe this place. Without some countermeasures and an Array, it would be impossible to stop them.’

’Next, I need to return to the Divine Martial Realm and bring Bi Yuan and the others up.’

’The Saint Sect disciples can’t be trusted. If I recruited them on a temporary basis, they would scatter like birds and beasts at the first sign of pressure. Only Bi Yuan and his people are truly of one mind with me.’

(Everyone, I’m so sorry. Something came up today and I was delayed. Just one Chapter for now, four more tomorrow.)

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